Government denies plans to lease al-Khoms port to foreign forces

Libya’s UN-recognized government of national unity, based in Tripoli, on Thursday denied ceding rights to a major civilian port or authorizing its use as a military base by foreign forces.

“What is said about the state handing over or allowing the operation of the seaport of al-Khoms as a foreign naval base is incorrect and baseless,” said Mohamed Hamuda, door – speech of the government of Abdelhamid Dbeibah.

He made the statement at the port of al-Khoms, with Libyan Navy Chief of Staff Noureddine el-Bouni and Director of the Ports and Maritime Transport Authority Mohamed el-Siwiwi at his side.

The spokesperson was reacting to the protests of hundreds of inhabitants of this coastal city, 120 km east of Tripoli, who accuse the government of wanting to cede part of this civilian port to Turkey, a country allied with the government of Dbeibah , and for military purposes.

From Sunday to Thursday morning, they torched tires, blocked roads and blocked access to this important trading port, according to videos posted on social networks.

Calling for restraint, Mr. Hamuda warned against any “harm to the public interest”, saying that such acts “expose the perpetrators to criminal prosecution”.

Read also: Libya: Tripoli-based prime minister warns militias

Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah attaches “great importance” to this commercial port, with development projects to increase trade “with other states”, he added.

The port of al-Khoms, one of the largest and most important in Libya, can handle one million tons of containers per year. With Misrata, further east, it is considered a strategic site.

These demonstrations were disturbed by heavy fire Monday and Tuesday between two armed groups in Tripoli (western Libya), the worst in a year, which left 55 dead and 146 injured.

Oil-rich Libya plunged into security chaos after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011.

Two governments have been vying for power for a year: that of Mr. Dbeibah in the west and that of the east supported by the powerful Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

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